Do you need Connects?


I can make and sell these for $5 or $10 each.


They're clunky
They're not Aerospace precision
If you can handle one with a "raw-off-the-saw" finish:
$5 slotted
$10 half-round




2020-02-09

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These were intended for your polo mallet;
not social media.
The idea was to come up with a design and methodology to be able to make a part as easily as possible;
and then give away that methodology.

They're not CNC machined, they're manually milled.
Watch the video:

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That idea was so Sunday; this is Wednesday's work:

The two bars of stock in the middle are my second round of refinements.
I finished both of these in just over an hour (not including thinning the bar in front).

I can have stock on hand to make either half-round style connects or slotted connects.

I made the bar at the back-right, with the thin slot, to line-up the saw-stop quickly.

Heck, I could make the slots at 90° to the mallet face if you needed...
any improvement or variation will cost more.

Slotted Style:
Raw-off-the-saw $5ea.
Thinner style $10ea.
Finished ends (saw cuts machined away) $15ea. (Thick or Thin)

Half-Round Style:
(7/16" diameter round unless specified)
Raw-off-the-saw $10ea.
Thinner style - Haven't worked on that yet
Finished ends (saw cuts machined away) $20ea.

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Oh, that one at the bottom right of the photo above?

I can make one-offs.

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It's been said that: "A problem well defined is half solved."

We might not be there yet.


Today, the Thursday of the week in progress, at 11:05am, I got the following text message in reply to the updates above:

"Something that hasn't been made yet that people in our club would want is a connect that will work with a sawed off ski pole"

I work until 7pm on Thursdays.
I was lucky enough to get a drive home and start machining at 7:33pm.

• 8:56pm •

Sure it uses a discontinued Connect system...
I bet some idiot will machine a Connect for about $5.

Yes, there's a video:

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One Week Later

Four pieces of stock ready for shaft-mount machining.
One strip of thinned Slotted Connect stock.
A saw-stop set-up gauge.
Connects in presentation cases.

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2023-09-12
Gavin told JF.

Now there's a curvature gauge.

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I have been checking the finish under a microscope.

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If you're going to commit to supporting something,
driven by passion over profit;
If I can help,
I'm in.

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This is the Tooling Commitment required for the project:

I purchased no new tooling for prototyping.
All of the tooling shown has been purchased for other projects
or used and donated
(like the 7/16" Solid Carbide 4-flute end mill).

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By the way, NOECH strives to be Carbon Neutral.

After reducing and re-using,
carbon offsets seemed to be the best option available.


2020-12-31

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2022-02-28 Update: